“Oh my, didn’t those two weeks just breeze by?” said no Scandal fan ever! Well, last night we were taken off the hook—or maybe it was put right back on it. The Truth or Consequences episode opened with a flashback to two years ago in the great state of Ohio and the intro of brand new touch screen voting and those darned memory cards. We finally got to see Lindsey/Quinn’s boyfriend called Jessie (side bar: cute to see this real life married couple on the screen together) as he swooped in, bold as all get out, and switched the boxes.

We then see a happy smiling Lindsey, not yet Quinn, calling him to say she’s passed the bar. Funny, somehow I forgot Quinn was a smarty lawyer type. Well, she sure showed us in this episode.

We now cut to Hollis and David, who is trying to give Hollis a deal. Hollis give David a no-go in the form of a kindly castration threat. Oh Hollis, you are a smooth talker.

Next, we have Mellie bursting into Cyrus’s office and she is mad with a capital M for Mellie. This tells us it’s obviously the morning after last week because she tells Cy to get his guy under control. When he tries to brush her off, she drops the bomb that Fitz asked for a divorce. Well, that gets Cy’s attention. He tells Mellie to relax and he will handle it. Mellie then has a pain and Cy tells her to get some rest and see the doctor.

And now we get to Olivia. The first glimpse we get of Liv is in the Pope offices staring glassy eyed at a pretty diamond engagement ring. This was the turning point. With the world wondering—girl, what are you doing with that man’s ring? Didn’t you JUST kick him to the curb? Is merely asking all it takes for a girl to go to mush? Now, I know Olivia’s questionable never wrong character has been building for quite a while, but really? I mean REALLY?

In walks Hollis big as all get out. Quinn turns and recognizes him, but he plays dumb with her. Huck intervenes. Hollis tells Liv to fix the David problem or he will take everyone down. Oh just great. More money, more problems.

Now we cut to Cyrus asking Fitz if the shooting made him delusional to think he can divorce his pregnant wife. But Fitz seems to have had a life-changing epiphany and doesn’t care about anything but Liv, and tells Cy he’s going to divorce Mellie and is going to remain president after he does it so make it happen. Bam!

We now get a flashback and Jesse realizes he’s gotten conned by Hollis. He makes a threat that seals his fate. He also doesn’t know how to respect a laptop and in an angry coffee splash, changes the future.

Cut to Liv and Cy. Olivia is fading fast and talking good guys and bad guys. She has no focus and no fire. It seems she’s gotten so wrapped in Fitz that she’s lost sight of who she was. She says David is the good guy and they are now the bad guys. She also rambles on about how she should not have been emotional involved with Fitz and that’s why this has all happened. That she should have fixed it from the beginning.

But once again Cy, being the emotional fixer, sends Liv on her way and tell her to go home and he will handle Hollis. Uh to the oh.

Liv goes home and takes to her bed like a sweet southern belle.

Fitz calls. Liv moans, telling him Edison asked her to marry him. Fitz asks her to wait for him and that he’s asked Mellie for a divorce. When Fitz asks Olivia to say she’ll wait for him she answers by hanging up on him. Way to play it cool, Liv.

But as the audience I think we get our answer when Edison (who annoyingly STILL has a key to her place or is an excellent lock picker) shows up at her bedside asking her what’s wrong and to talk to him. Olivia turns away from him. The question is—is Olivia turning away from just Edison, or from Edison and Fitz and turning away emotionally from all men to get back to herself?

Pushy Eddie resorts to going to the Gladiator gang and asking for help. This man makes me roll my eyes.

We are then given a lovely flashback and a sweet woman’s voice and, gah! It’s Becky and she’s building a bomb. It’s addressed to Lindsey. Oh noes!

Cut to present day Quinn and she’s taking charge; she’s decided they need to solve this puzzle and they all must share what they know in a sort of no judgment (you know Abby can’t do that) roundtable. Huck decides to only speak in coughs, blinks, snorts and stamps. So Huck.

I loved how smart Quinn was during this scene. I also noticed that Harrison is the only one that had nothing to share. You are still a man of mystery, Harrison. What was also interesting here is the fact that out of all the Gladiators, Huck was the man confirming everything. Huck knows all.

Cut to Mellie in the OB/GYN office getting checked out. She’s actually fine. There is a mention of her last two births and how Fitz was there for her and they were a team. Where are these phantom children?

Now we have Huck coming into Liv’s apartment (who I’m sure she would trust with a key and even if he didn’t have one, I know he could pick a lock). He sweetly lays next to her like an old friend and offers to take care of Hollis. Liv tells him he has to stop killing people. She tells him Cyrus is taking care of Hollis and all will be fine. Huck schools her on Cyrus and his way of taking care of people. Olivia is once again surprised. It was another Olivia, meet coffee, wake up and smell it moment. How could she not know this? Livie, your picker is so off.

This gets Olivia out of bed and she has decided to turn Hollis into David to save his life.

Cut to Hollis getting arrested and right in the middle of a good lunch too.

We now see Olivia and Cy, and Cy is mad as Olivia for interfering. He said he would handle it and he’d probably already put down a deposit too. Drats!

Now Olivia is back to work and ready to answer the Gladiators' questions. Smooth Harrison says he don’t want to know nothing and keep it all to herself. Better not to know so he can’t be a witness. I love Harrison.

Olivia asks the team to get more evidence against Hollis and find a money trail to Becky.

In the scariest and strangely most romantic moment of the episode, Huck poses as an attorney and goes to the prison to see Becky and convince her to give him her account numbers. When she asks why should she do that?, he says because he will come and visit her. She then asks, why should she trust him? Huck shocks her by saying because I gave you my name and handing her a piece of paper and asking don’t make me say goodbye. The open and vulnerable look on Becky’s face in that moment is priceless. Of course, she gives up the goods.

Cut to Cyrus and Mellie and Cy saying that Fitz is serious about the divorce. In perfect Mellie-ness she says, “You’re supposed to hate the other women…but it’s a boring sort of hate, it’s hard to even get my back into it.” Oh Mellie, you are a true star. And like the star you are, all your hate is right where it belongs, with your cheating husband. Atta girl! But uh oh. Back to the OB/GYN.

While all this is going on Cy has been busy trying to convince David to let Hollis go so that he can “take care of things.”

Over at Pope and Associates we have a still foggy Olivia in need of a Harrison, Man Up Lady talk. She gets one. The team is huddled around the laptop.

Cut to Fitz and Cy looking for a mathematical way out of the marriage. It’s not looking good. Fitz still doesn’t want to hear it, he wants to visit his girl. Aww. But then we hear it’s an emergency with the First Lady. “Didn’t see that one coming,” said no one ever!

Cut back to Pope and Associates and the Laptop rangers and yes, another emergency. Huck's in! And bam, 5 mil deposited to Becky’s account, but wait, it wasn’t Hollis! Gah! Let’s all gasp together. Then who the heck was it? Mellie? Sally? OMG in the cold light of day, I’m really feeling Cyrus may be this one. Oh boy, this is a #Gamechanger.

Quick, Liv, to the bat phone to call David. But it’s too late. Hollis has been released and strolling around without a care in the world.

Cut to Mellie in intense early induced labor and Fitz running in to the tiniest birthing room ever. He springs into action, letting old feelings of concern take over to help Mellie through the birth. Oh Mellie, you are a hot mess.

Cut to Hollis getting into an elevator when, oh the door is stopped and in steps ol’ Charlie. Oh boy, he’s never a pleasant passenger. Not looking good for you, Hollis. This is going to be a bumpy ride.

As always, I can't wait for next week. The cut to the scene with now Hollis, Charlie and Huck in the elevator is worth the price of admission for me.

Sidebar: I’m thinking in this episode with the fall of Olivia, for Fitz and even the fall of Becky (giving up the account for Huck’s name) and Lindsey/Quinn losing her life and taking the fall for her boyfriend Jesse, Shonda is telling us something about women and losing it all in the emotions of a relationship. What do you all think?

Side-side bar: Cyrus was obviously the man with the best one-liners last night:

To Mellie’s back as he closes the door: Shakes head and says, “Breeders.”

To Fitz on divorce: “You can’t think that because we’re not French.”

To Olivia while irate: “Justice is for regular people!

Kwana Jackson—aka K.M. Jackson—is a writer of women’s fiction and contemporary romance. Her debut novel Through the Lens is on sale now. She can be found on most days at her blog kwana.com and at any moment on Twitter talking about everything and nothing at all under the handle @kwanawrites.

Great recap! I just watched this episode about an hour ago, and I adore all of these characters, for so many different reasons. I love Cyrus and his long-winded, impassioned speeches. (Totally agree with you about him being the likely mastermind.) I love Mellie and her conniving ways, and liked her description of how she made Fitz into who he is. (Dang, now I think it was her!) Oh, and I was so sure that Harrison was going to spill his secret, about breaking up Abby and David -- how come that didn't happen? :)

Great recap, Kwana! I fell asleep during the show (bc of exhaustion, definitely not because it was boring!!) so I needed a good recap to fill in the blanks :D I freaking love this show. Every week it keeps delivering!!

Hi. So late I am. I too think Cyrus is behind the assassination attempt. Huck is an adorable loyal teddy bear. Harrison is good for Olivia. I think there will be a divide in P&A where Huck and Harrison still ride for Olivia and Abby and Quinn/Lindsay will challenge her authority as everything unfolds and is revealed. Abby will still be santicmonious even though she betrayed Olivia to David. I'm scared for James' life if Cyrus finds out that he supplied information to Hollis because he does not truly understand the "enemy" he is sleeping with.

Yes, I do think that women in general lose it in the emotions of relationships. Mellie, as hard nosed as she tries to come off has always been fueled by her emotions, her reason for wanting the relationship to remain in tact aside. Olivia is powerful in every other aspect of her life, as far as we know, except when comes to Fitz.

I can't wait to see the aftershocks of whatever Verna reveals to Fitz in the upcoming episode.